Boris Johnson has been lambasted for his attack on Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, as the former Prime Minister delivered his scathing verdict of the Conservatives's General Election defeat.
Writing in his Daily Mail column, the ex-Tory leader branded Farage the "cheroot-puffing Pied Piper of Clacton" and claimed he played a "significant part" in the "destruction" of the Conservative party.
Johnson added: "The Yucatan asteroid in this catastrophe was obvious: it was Reform.
"When we get back in, don't be too hasty to get rid of successful election-winning leaders. As I never tire of telling people, some polls put us only two or three points behind, in the days before I was forced to resign in what was really a media-driven hoo-ha."
Boris Johnson claimed Nigel Farage has 'played a significant part' in the 'destruction of the Tory government'
PA / GB News
Reacting to Johnson's analysis of Sunak's defeat, presenter and commentator Darren Grimes was infuriated by the remarks, telling the former Prime Minister: "How dare you say that, Boris.
"How dare you say that we have all been led down the garden path by the Pied Piper and Nigel Farage, as if we're all demented idiots that don't know our own minds."
Recalling how he once campaigned for Johnson in 2019 and saw his home constituency of County Durham "turn blue" for the first time in history, Grimes claimed the Tories "had their golden opportunity" to maintain their power going into this election.
Grimes fumed: "For him to turn around now and blame Nigel Farage, when we have been utterly betrayed by that 2019 mandate - they didn't deliver on the net migration promises that they pledged to do.
Nigel Farage won his seat in Clacton after securing over 20,000 votes in the General Election
PA
"They didn't stop the boats, there were a whole slew of things in which Brexit gave us the power to be able to change this country for the better. Actual tools to change the country and make things unrecognisable from what they were within the EU."
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Grimes continued: "But now we've said to everyone, bring every Tom, Dick and Harry you want over with you whilst you're studying at university - we've become a clown show. This is the circus.
"We're in for one hell of a circus right now, and I blame in part Boris Johnson for that, not Nigel Farage."
Agreeing with Grimes, commentator Matthew Stadlen said he was "relieved" that Boris Johnson is now "confined to wild ranting" about Nigel Farage rather than leading the country.
Weighing in on the major defeat for the Conservatives, Stadlen questioned the future direction of the party and how they will now "challenge Starmer and Labour" going forward.
Darren Grimes said the UK was 'utterly betrayed' by Boris Johnson after the Tory victory in 2019
GB News
Stadlen explained: "Looking at the way that Labour and Starmer can be challenged, I think is fascinating. The key question is in what direction does what remains of the Conservative Party go?
"I don't think Nigel Farage will take it over from inside. Do they go to the hard right or do they stay in the centre?"
Discussing the next steps for Reform UK, Stadlen added that there is potential to "grow the constituency" of people on the "hard right" with Farage's power.
Stadlen told GB News: "You look back to Ukip in 2015, under the stewardship of Nigel Farage, they actually won almost as many votes as they won in this election. They won almost 3.9 million votes, this time they won about 4.1 million votes.
"So that constituency of people on the harder right in this country have always been here over the past decade."
